[Adopted 3-20-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006]
Volunteer fire fighters personnel in the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson
provide a valuable service to members of the community. These workers
absorb many costs over the years, including training and the cost
of being certified and recertified. This exemption will help offset
those costs and also encourage more local residents to become members
of these volunteer organizations since they would receive a meaningful
reduction of their taxes.
This article is enacted pursuant to the authority of § 466-f
of the Real Property Tax Law of New York State, which in turn was
enacted by the Orange County Legislature in 2005.
The property tax exemption shall equal 10% of the assessed value
of the property, to a maximum of $3,000, multiplied by the latest
state equalization rate for the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
For the purpose of qualifying for this exemption, a person must
be certified by the Fire Chief as:
The applicant for the exemption must reside in the Village of
Cornwall-on-Hudson and where he or she is a volunteer fire fighter
or emergency medical technician (EMT).
A parcel of real property must satisfy the following requirements
to qualify for the exemption provided for herein:
A.Â
The premises must be used solely as the primary residence of the
qualified volunteer fire fighter or emergency medical technician (EMT);
and
B.Â
The exemption shall not apply to any part of the premises that is
not in a residential use; and
C.Â
The premises must be located within the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson
where the owner is a certified fire fighter or emergency medical technician
(EMT).
A.Â
The certification of active status of volunteer fire fighters and
emergency medical technicians (EMT) by the Fire Chief shall be filed
with the Assessor of the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson prior to August
1 each year. A copy of such certification shall also be mailed to
each person on the certification list, prior to August 1, with instructions
to each to obtain an application for exemption from the Village of
Cornwall-on-Hudson Assessor, and that filing of the application must
be prior to September 1 of the year for which the exemption is desired,
and that the exemption must be renewed annually by filing such forms
with the Assessor before September 1 of each year.
B.Â
Any volunteer fire fighter or emergency medical technician (EMT)
whose volunteer fire department has initiated a service award program
pursuant to Article 11AA or Article 11AAA of the General Municipal
Law must have participated in at least 10% of fire department responses
in the prior calendar year to qualify for the property tax exemption
in the following calendar year.
Any enrolled member of an incorporated volunteer fire company or fire department within the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson who accrues more than 20 years of active service and is so certified by the authority having jurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer fire company or fire department shall be granted the ten-percent exemption as authorized by § 145-26 for the remainder of his or her life as long as his or her primary residence is located within the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
